1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image-recording material properly adapted to electrophotographic materials, thermosensitive coloring materials, inkjet recording materials, sublimation transfer materials, silver halide photographic materials, thermal transfer materials, or the like; wherein a coating liquid for image-recording layer, that contains a water-dispersible emulsion and a water-soluble polymer compound, may prevent a flocculation, exhibit an enhanced stability, present an improved film-forming performance, and provide superior surface conditions. The present invention also relate to a process for producing the image-recording material and a process for forming an image that utilizes the image-recording material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrophotographic processes are broadly applied to various copiers, printers of personal computers and the like since the process allows dry processing, provides high-speed printing, and allows printing on general-purpose paper such as plain paper and wood-free paper. The toner-image-receiving layers of electrophotographic-image-receiving sheets utilized in the electrophotographic process are formed from various processes. For example, a process is proposed in which a thermoplastic resin is melted and extruded on a support such as raw paper to form a laminate, alternatively a process is proposed in which a resin solution or resin dispersion is coated on a support, and others are proposed.
Among these proposals, such process as coating a water-dispersible emulsion on a support has been widely investigated in recent years, since the process is less likely to cause environmental issues, and the cost of the materials is relatively low. In the process, in order to coat appropriately the water-dispersible emulsion on the support, the viscosity of the coating liquid for toner-image-receiving layer should be raised by adding a water-soluble polymer compound or the like. However, when a water-soluble polymer compound is added to a water-dispersible emulsion, the flocculation of the coating liquid of the toner-image-receiving layer is often induced, the coating liquid is likely to decrease the stability, and the coated film tends to exhibit poor surface conditions after drying, and also the coated film tends to be brittle, therefore such problems as defect and cracking of the film may be unavoidable, resulting in the diminish of the product value.
In the prior art, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open JP-A) No. 05-214269 and Bunsan Gyoshu no kaimei to Ohyogijyutsu “Clarification of Dispersion and Flocculation and Applied Technology”, Fumio Kitahara, by Techno System co. jp, 1992 describe the addition of water-soluble polymer compounds to water-dispersible emulsions in order to adjust the viscosities. However, these literatures do not disclose or suggest the average particle size of the water-dispersible emulsions, molecular weight of the water-soluble polymer compounds, or these optimizations, therefore the aforesaid objection have not been solved in the prior art.
Accordingly, an image-recording material has not been provided yet that may prevent a flocculation, exhibit an enhanced stability, present an improved film-forming performance, and provide superior surface conditions.
The object of the present invention is to provide an image-recording material properly adapted to electrophotographic materials, thermosensitive coloring materials, inkjet recording materials, sublimation transfer materials, silver halide photographic materials, thermal transfer materials, or the like; wherein a coating liquid for image-recording layer, that contains a water-dispersible emulsion and a water-soluble polymer compound, may prevent a flocculation, exhibit an enhanced stability, present an improved film-forming performance, and provide superior surface conditions. The object of the present invention is also to provide a process for producing the image-recording material and a process for forming an image that utilizes the image-recording material.